Leaders of the "BRICS" nations - the emerging industrial powers Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa - reaffirmed UNCTAD's development work in the fields of trade, investment, finance, and technology.

As part of the document adopted at the fifth BRICS summit, held 26-27 March in Johannesburg, South Africa, leaders of the countries said, "We reaffirm the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) mandate as the focal point in the UN system dedicated to consider the interrelated issues of trade, investment, finance and technology from a development perspective."

The document added, "UNCTAD's mandate and work are unique and necessary to deal with the challenges of development and growth in the increasingly interdependent global economy. We also reaffirm the importance of strengthening UNCTAD's capacity to deliver on its programmes of consensus building, policy dialogue, research, technical cooperation and capacity building, so that it is better equipped to deliver on its development mandate."

UNCTAD's latest Global Investment Trends Monitor, released 25 March in time for the summit, reviews investment trends related to BRICS countries - and related to investment flows from the BRICS countries to Africa.